Best buy Turbo Trainer

Chumpy

I am a novice rider, who would like to buy a Turbo trainer to get my fitness up, especially with the dark nights etc...

I want to buy a decent turbo trainer...

Can anyone recommend one suitable for a road biike orwhat should I be looking out for?
I hear some are tyre based, some are rim..... some don't offer as much resistance as others, and some are adjustable, and some not..

Any ideas on a good one at a good price?

Cheers

Garybee

It depends how much you have to spend. I recently bought a Tacx Flow, this displays heart rate and power output which is helpful as you can see improvement (unfortunately you can also see if you've lost power too ). These are quite good value in my opinion (at £200). I would recommend one to anyone.

Chumpy

Thanks for the reply.
I'll take a look at that one.

I found the Axiom ones, which appear to be able to connect to your PC....
I think they're more expensive. Are they worth it?

Do you have a recommendation for anything cheaper??

I'm really not sre how much to spend. Initially I was looking around £70-ish, but then saw the computerised ones...... Anything which takes my fancy, and I think is good value would be considered.

Cheers

Garybee

I would tend to steer away from anything you need to connect to a computer. When i'm on the turbo I use massive ammounts of energy and get very hot. Even in the garage in the winter I sweat buckets. If you connect it to a computer you're probably going to need to have it in the house and it will be just too hot to do really intensive work. And really intensive work is the kind of thing that turbo trainers are best for.

I have no experience of the Axiom trainers so can't offer any meaningful advice on them. As a general rule of thumb for other turbos, the different methods of how they achieve resistance gives them certain characteristics. Oil (fluid) resistance trainers tend to have less resistance as the oil heats up and thins. Wind resistance tends to not be strong enough to do powerful intervals (or normal rides for powerful riders). Magnetic resistance seems to feel like you're pedalling through mud. I don't know why this is and it could be just me but I hate using them.

Chumpy

Thanks for the reply.

I'm a bit of a computer geek, so quite fancy this aspect.

Just looked up the Tacx I-Magic which looks nice!
Any views on it?

Garybee

That's a variation onthe flow that I use. I actually bought the flow as there is an upgrade available that turns it into an I-magic. If you buy the Flow from Decathlon then it and the upgrade actually work out cheaper than an i-magic :? . Sorry, i'm starting to sound like a stuck record .

The i-magic has some nifty features too. You can analyse the efficiency of your pedal action and in the winter race other people on the internet (though not in real time). I believe they can be a pain to get working properly, though if you are a comuter whizz (geek ) that probably won't bother you. If I get round to building a conservatory so I can get a room cold enough to work hard in i'll probably get the upgrade.

Chumpy

Very interesting.
Is a T1680 a Flow?

What is the kit to upgrade to I-Magic?

Where is the cheapest place to buy from?

Cheers

Garybee

Yep, the T1680 is a flow, the upgrade kit is T1915 (below)

http://www.juliescycles.co.uk/index.php ... 15-jc.html

Decathlon sell the flow for £200 so you can buy that and the upgrade for less than the i-magic...go figure.

tonyw43

I use the Cycleops Mag+. Goes for about £70 - £80 these days I think. Can get a little noisy when your going flat out, but otherwise very good.

Cycleops Mag+

neeb

If you really feel like shelling out, the tacx fortius is brilliant. It's like the i-Magic except it has a "motor brake" which can simulate really steep climbs and can also power the rear wheel on descents. So with the real-life videos of famous routes you have a pretty realistic simulation of the effort of the real thing. I justified the expense to myself as I am in Finland at the moment and it's a motivation to keep training in the winter when there's snow & ice about.

If you go to the forums on the tacx website you will see a few complaints about the fortius, but these mostly relate to 1) issues with the American version which doesn't work properly because of the lower voltage electricity supply - the European one is fine 2) software issues that have now mostly been sorted out. There are some slight limitations, e.g. you can't go faster than about 35-40mph even on the steepest descents, but they are minor.

For me the computer simulation makes all the difference when it comes to motivating myself to use the trainer - I don't think I could face it if I was just staring at the wall! It's also really easy to measure your progress as you can compare times and power output on each route and the data is all saved automatically. I don't find the temperature a problem but then I keep my apartment at about 18C anyway and have a really powerful fan in front of the setup.

nic_77

I would happily recommend the I-Magic... With the real-life videos you can cycle around some spectacular routes connected to your PC - this helps to keep me entertained when it might otherwise turn into a boring session. The pedalling action is pretty smooth and you get good statistics from the built-in analyser program.

I do agree with the comment about getting very warm and sweaty - I use mine with a laptop in the garage!

richardjallen

I have an Elite Chronos. Its adequate for my needs. One design feature is that it uses the weight of the rider to hold the rear wheel on the roller. This is fine while seated but if I get out of the saddle then the traction is lost on the rear wheel and it wheel spins! The roller has a layer of rubber around it, which makes it quieter but the wheel spinning rear wheel destroys the rubber. So overall I don't think getting out of the saddle with this is a good idea.

wingnut1

Garybee wrote:

That's a variation onthe flow that I use. I actually bought the flow as there is an upgrade available that turns it into an I-magic. If you buy the Flow from Decathlon then it and the upgrade actually work out cheaper than an i-magic :? . Sorry, i'm starting to sound like a stuck record

I have the Tacx flow and have been looking at the possibility of upgrading, is it really worth it and does it make the hours of listening to the mp3 that much better?
From the looks of the screenshots ect from the Tacx website surely you would need to run it on a large sreen to get all the benefits from imersion or is it ok on a normal computer screen.

nmcgann

wingnut1 wrote:

Garybee wrote:

That's a variation onthe flow that I use. I actually bought the flow as there is an upgrade available that turns it into an I-magic. If you buy the Flow from Decathlon then it and the upgrade actually work out cheaper than an i-magic :? . Sorry, i'm starting to sound like a stuck record

I have the Tacx flow and have been looking at the possibility of upgrading, is it really worth it and does it make the hours of listening to the mp3 that much better?
From the looks of the screenshots ect from the Tacx website surely you would need to run it on a large sreen to get all the benefits from imersion or is it ok on a normal computer screen.

The Flow with iMagic upgrade is great (check out www.bike24.com - much cheaper than the UK).

I find I don't really use the VR or real video features that much, but I use Catalyst (the training program function) all the time for TT training. It makes it really easy to do intervals and log your performance.

I have a cheap PC with an old 17in monitor in my shed set up permanently with my turbo - works a treat.

Neil

Muzak

Chumpy wrote:

I am a novice rider, who would like to buy a Turbo trainer to get my fitness up, especially with the dark nights etc...

I want to buy a decent turbo trainer...

Can anyone recommend one suitable for a road biike orwhat should I be looking out for?
I hear some are tyre based, some are rim..... some don't offer as much resistance as others, and some are adjustable, and some not..

Any ideas on a good one at a good price?

Cheers

Have the Minoura VFS-G. Wiggle sell it and it is brilliant IMO. Quiet and functional. HTH

wingnut1

The Flow with iMagic upgrade is great (check out www.bike24.com - much cheaper than the UK).

I find I don't really use the VR or real video features that much, but I use Catalyst (the training program function) all the time for TT training. It makes it really easy to do intervals and log your performance.

I have a cheap PC with an old 17in monitor in my shed set up permanently with my turbo - works a treat.

Neil

Thanks for that Neil, if I was going to upgrade I think I would go down the route of a large screen to get the full benefits of the software (just got planning permision to extend the house including a double garage/gym). What exactly does the Catalyst software do as at the moment I have the Suunto T4 HRM of which downloads performance to PC and or can give live readings on screen.

Sorry CHUMPY, hope you don't think i'm hijacking your topic. As you are probably aware from my previous posts I have the Tacx Flow and I have had no problems at all with it, fantastic solid piece of kit with good functions and reasonably quiet.

shmo

Is there much of a mess issue with these trainers? I want one for the living room so I can watch TV but worried that I'll end up with a wall covered in chain grease and bits of tyre.

neeb

I haven't had any problems like that at all, although I have a special tyre designed for the trainer. I think with an ordinary outdoor tyre it could possibly spit a little bit of rubber, or so I vaguely remember someone saying. You want a mat or an old bit of carpet to put underneath obviously. The sweat flies a lot more than anything else and noise is the main potential irritant to other people.... Biggest problem I have is trying not to damage the floor with the cleats, I have to hobble to the kitchen on my heels if I need to get water

Yellow Cliff

Shmo wrote:

Is there much of a mess issue with these trainers? I want one for the living room so I can watch TV but worried that I'll end up with a wall covered in chain grease and bits of tyre.

Well, there can be some mess - don't lube your chain before you ride on the turbo! A fairly dry chain is best or there can be a few splatters (I sometimes put a piece of cardboard behind the bike to catch any oil).

It is also worth putting something down on the floor so that you don't leave a nasty sweat patch.

Yellow Cliff

I have a variable resistance magnetic turbo (Elite or Tacx) it is fine and was about £70. Most of the noise seems to come from the wheel anyway.

I'd really recommend getting a fan to cool you a little and watching TV. Videos/DVDs of the Tour de France keep me motivated (and are a lot cheaper than an I-Magic).

shmo

Cheers guys, good advice. Was looking at the Tacx T1680 Flow as mentioned earlier in thread with the idea that I might upgrade it in the future for the graphics software. But I'm not interested at all in data and numbers so the extra money might be wasted as I'll probably just end up watching the news anyway. Just want one capable of simulating a big hill. Decisions decisions.

azzerb

Just a question for anyone with a Tacx Flow. As it is electric, does it offer the ability to set a level of power and not dip below that?

e.g. you want to do 20mins at 220w, so the slower you pedal the more resistance there is, but the faster you pedal the less resistance, meaning you don't ever drop below the 220w without having to constantly screen watch your power level.

sloxam

what about one of thesehttp://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150213843304&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching. loads in the shop, just picked one up for £26, bargain!

musto_skiff

Garybee wrote:

You can analyse the efficiency of your pedal action .

how do you do that?